Be Careful With iPad Mini Rumors

by Da'Von B.

A rumor that’s been going around since the launch of the Kindle Fire is an iPad Mini, many analysts who accurately predict Apple’s moves like Insurance Salesmen accurately predict the weather, suggest that Apple is in fact releasing an iPad Mini with an aggressive price point to compete against the Kindle Fire and the Nook Color. There are many problems with this assertion, and I’m not suggesting that the company doesn’t have an iPad Mini in the works however many things have been overlooked.

Since when does Apple feel they need to compete against someone else? It’s not the company’s philosophy.

“Steve grilled in all of us over many years, the company should revolve around great products. We should stay extremely focused on a few things, rather than try to do so many that we did nothing well. We should only go into markets where we can make a significant contribution to society, not just sell a lot of products. These things, along with keeping excellent as an expectation, these are the things that I focus on.”

Anyone who can read that with a shred of logic could understand Apple’s philosophy, it’s outlined right there. Apple doesn’t view the Kindle Fire or the Nook Color as a threat in any way, regardless of what the supposed analysts would suggest. It’s possible Apple would introduce a tiered iPad family similar to the MacBook Air group but that leaves ongoing questions.

An aggressive price point? Here’s what everyone is forgetting with relation to the cost of an iPad Mini…the iPod Touch. Now many would state that the iPod continues to decline in sales, but if viewed closely the iOS based iPod has a steady sales record, it’s a device for pre-teens before they move on to an iPhone. It has basic functionality of an iPhone without the phone capabilities, it allows you to make video calls and send texts to other iOS devices over WiFi, and it’s doubtful that Apple isgoing to discontinue or replace it’s iPod Touch line. Now look at the price structure of the iPod Touch.

In the event that Apple increases the screen size of the iPhone 5 to 4″ without increasing the size of the device itself it’s very possible they’ll do the same with the iPod Touch so the question becomes How do you price an iPad Mini? Could they make only two versions of the Touch? An 8GB and 16GB? at $99 and $149? a 16 or 32GB Mini at $249 and a 16 or 32GB iPad 2 at $399? Or would the iPad 2 simply be replaced allowing for the Mini to have a $249 & $349 price point? How exactly does that work?

How will this affect developers? Because they are essentially what helps drive the adoption of these devices, is it possible to create a universal app that you download once and use on all three devices? What will make apps for the iPad Mini more attractive than those on the Touch or regular sized iPad 3? Would Apple simply rename the iPod Touch into the iPad Mini? What happens then to the iPod family?

It’s the logical questions that the individuals who report these rumors are essentially too lazy to ask, answer, or address. They offer up linkbait with very little context. Only Apple will be able to answer these questions, as usual it’s best to wait and see or wait for Gruber, Siegler, or AllThingsD to confirm or deny suspicions of such a device.